After the Fall: 1989 and the Future of Freedom

By George Katsiaficas

Overview:
Did the United States really "win" the Cold War? Is the fall of Communism only a temporary setback for Marxism, or has the free market prevailed, once and for all? In After the Fall, many of the most important Marxist scholars and journalists gather to argue that justice and equality are more important now than ever. They worry that the last ten years have brought us plenty of global capitalism but not much of the democratic freedom that the world had hoped for. The years from 1989-1991 did score some pretty heady victories for freedom, but After the Fall argues that there is much work to be done in detaching the best parts of Marxism from the fallen carcass of Communism.

Review:"After the Fall is without question the best collection of essays about the turbulent multiple crises humanity is facing since the end of the Cold War. Every essay in the book has a grasp on present reality without sentimentality. Yet the essays build from the radical project that hope for a better future is at the center of human progress and reconstruction. The authors will give many people, including those at universities, a chance to rethink what they are learning and where they might go politically and personally."- Marcus Raskin, Co-founder and Distinguished Fellow, Institute of Policy Studies, and Professor, Public Policy Program George Washington University